A usual dictionary of foreign words comprises a sequential arrangement of words in alphabetic order with a transcription and translation. Such dictionaries are used to translate and learn foreign words in texts. Wherewith a lot of time is to be spent on searching for, rewriting and then memorizing the words.
A dictionary is known in which a plurality of words are arranged into sequential groups in the form of columns, in each of which the plurality of words have an identical final syllable; the sequential groups are positioned in alphabetic order in accordance with the final syllable; the plurality of words in each sequential group are positioned in alphabetic order (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,905, class 281/15, 1989). A book which comprises a plurality of words in a first section which are arranged into columns in alphabetic order is described in this same patent document; in a second section there is a plurality of single-syllable words from the first section and in a third section a plurality of multi-syllable words from the first section, positioned in sequential groups in each of which the words have an identical final syllable, wherein the aforesaid sequences of groups are positioned in alphabetic order according to the letters forming the final syllable, this also being described in the same patent document.
This arrangement of a plurality of words in this known solution makes it possible to find any word rapidly and easily in order to define its correct spelling. However, the principle of arranging the words in the known dictionary does not make it possible to reduce the time necessary to learn the words of a foreign language. Furthermore, it cannot serve as a means of learning foreign languages since all the information necessary for that purpose is not provided therein.
A dictionary of an alphabetic foreign language is also known, which is made in the form of an information carrier on which a plurality of words of a foreign language are sequentially positioned, wherein words which differ from each other by at least one letter and contain an identical sequence of letters, comprising at least one third of the letters in a word in the direction from the end to the beginning of a word, are combined into marked-off groups corresponding to those sequences, and a corresponding translation and/or transcription thereof is accordingly provided adjacent to each word of the foreign language. The aforesaid groups of words are positioned freely in the dictionary (see Ukrainian patent No. 9031, class G 09 B 19/06, 19/08, published Sep. 30, 1996).
Graphical marks which are used during writing, typing or other means of reproducing words of an alphabetic language are also related to letters below.
Each of the aforesaid groups is a dictionary which can be used to memorize a limited number of words of a foreign language. Since words are memorized in the direction in which they are read, the letters at the beginning of a word are memorized easier than those at the end, and, just the same, it is easier to memorize words with fewer letters. Therefore the aforesaid groups of words are arranged so that identical final letters of a repeating sequence of letters in a group only need to be memorized once for all the words which the group contains. The greater the number of words in the group, the relatively less the time required to memorize each word.
In a dictionary containing from hundreds to tens of thousands of words, there is a large number of the aforesaid groups. Wherein, groups of words having an identical final letter are formed so that the sequence of final letters of one group includes therein the sequence of another group or the final part of such a sequence in the direction from the end of a word to its beginning. Wherein, when the number of identical letters in the sequence increases, the number of words in the group is reduced. Therefore, when the groups are freely set down in a dictionary, it takes a relatively long time to memorize the words.